Northward Return Journey
Victor briefed his father, Wembley, on Marvin's situation and the details of the battle.
"That's exactly it. Marvin, a soldier from Freemen background, has reached the end of his career in Iron Birch Territory. However, his abilities are far more than that, and I have high hopes for his future."
"If he is indeed as you say, a rare talent, our Golden Sunflower Territory has a shallow foundation. Elite professional soldiers can be trained through training, financial investment, and actual combat, but the cost of cultivating excellent officers is too high. If we can obtain such a talent, it will definitely help the development of the territory. However, are you sure you can bring him to our Golden Sunflower Family? After all, he is a mid-level officer in the Iron Birch Territory, and his treatment and status are not bad."
"You can rest assured, Father. I am very confident. During the few days I was a guest at Iron Mountain Fortress, I also made a request to Count Colt. Count Colt said there was no problem, as long as I could get Marvin's consent, Iron Birch Territory could release the people."
"It seems that Count Colt really values you. After all, Marvin is his retainer and an elite cultivated within his territory. His willingness to let you go is also a kind of investment."
"I think Count Colt might want to plant spies in our family, because he said at the time that if Marvin wanted to take his men with him, he could let them go. Marvin himself couldn't be a spy, but I think it's very likely that there were such people among the men he took with him."
"Victor, will you refuse?"
"How could that be? Compared to these things, I value Marvin himself more. Besides, this will help Count Colt trust me, which is good for both of us."
"That's right, Victor. We just need to focus on practical benefits and not get hung up on right and wrong."
"Then it's settled. After I return to the north, I will personally go to Iron Birch Territory to invite Marvin. Father, you can also organize the First Mixed Infantry and Cavalry Detachment to travel north by ship. When the ship returns, I will transfer the First Infantry Detachment of Foss to Golden Sunflower Territory. We will take turns."
Afterwards Victor and his father, the Former Baron Wembley, discussed some other details and the situation in the Duchy. The Former Baron Wembley also had multiple intelligence lines, especially regarding the situation in Silver Maple City, which was much more detailed than the free high-level intelligence provided by the Gorn Trading Company.
The next day, Victor accompanied his younger siblings on a tour around the territory, as compensation for not seeing them for more than a year.
"Brother, is Miss Veronica really that beautiful? Is it true that you fell in love with her at first sight?" Irene was in the prime of her youth and full of romantic fantasies.
"Yes, Veronica is beautiful and intelligent. I liked her the first time I met her." Victor didn't hide anything and fully satisfied his sister's curiosity.
"When I go to the Two Rivers Territory, I must meet Miss Veronica and see what kind of girl could captivate you on your first date."
In the following days, in addition to spending time with his family, Victor would also attend territory work meetings with his father to learn about the current situation in the Golden Sunflower Territory.
Since more than 8,000 serfs and more than 1,000 Freemen soldiers were transferred north, the entire Golden Sunflower Territory has faced a significant labor shortage. In order to repay the debts of the Wright Trading Company, the planting of sunflower fields could not be reduced. Therefore, the territory's Government Affairs Department and manors had to reduce the area planted with wheat. Fortunately, the remaining wheat fields were sufficient to meet the Golden Sunflower Territory's food consumption.
Therefore, Victor instructed his father to allocate 5,000 men to the Golden Sunflower Territory during this serf procurement to ensure the territory's normal agricultural production capacity.
As for the original Workshop of the territory, most of them have been moved to the Two Rivers Territory and merged into the factories of Riverside Village by Victor. From now on, Golden Sunflower Territory will become a purely agricultural territory. Fortunately, the land and climate of the eastern counties are very good, and the prospects for developing agriculture are also great. In particular, Golden Sunflower Territory also has a lot of uncultivated land. Now Golden Sunflower Territory only needs to provide manpower and resources for development.
On April 19, Victor bid farewell to his family members one by one. After all, no feast lasts forever, and Victor could not abandon the Two Rivers Territory. So he had to leave as soon as possible to send a letter to Count Colt.
This time, Victor will set off with the northward fleet of the Golden Sunflower Territory. However, after leaving Linshui Town, Victor will head east while the fleet heads west. After arriving at Sunset City, Victor will continue along the Iron Birch Territory's route by sea, while Captain Jack will lead the fleet to continue along the inland waterways.
Victor originally intended to lead the territory's fleet northward via sea routes, but Captain Jack, based on Victor's itinerary, discovered that many of the ships in the Golden Sunflower Territory's fleet were currently unable to meet the requirements for sea navigation and were prone to accidents. For the sake of safety, it would be safer for the fleet to take inland waterways.
Victor also made up his mind to start preparing for the construction of an ocean-going fleet after returning. Before leaving Golden Sunflower Territory, he made a request to his father, asking him to find some shipwrights, preferably those with experience in building large ocean-going ships.
In fact, given the current industrial level of Victor's territory, building some ocean-going vessels like galleons wouldn't be difficult. After all, the Number One can optimize the blueprints through the Calculation Module. However, considering that local experience should be incorporated, Victor thinks it would be better to recruit a group of local shipwrights to learn more.
As the boat gradually sailed away from the dock in Linshui Town, Victor waved goodbye to his family on the shore. He knew that after this departure, he probably wouldn't be able to come back for a long time. Even if he did come back, he wouldn't be able to leisurely spend time with his family or rest at home anymore. There would definitely be more important things to do then.
The rest of the journey followed the same route. Victor returned to Sunset City, intending to visit Count Black, but the Count was not at his residence and had gone to inspect his territory, so Victor had to leave.
On April 26, Victor returned to Northwind City and immediately set off for Iron Mountain Fortress to deliver Count Black's reply to Count Colt.
Upon arriving at Iron Mountain Fortress, Alex happened to be there. "What a pity, Victor. If you had come back a day earlier, my uncle's family would still be here. Maybe you could have seen Veronica off."
"It's a real pity, but we'll see each other again soon."
"Alright, judging from your expression, the mission must have gone very smoothly. Come with me, Father is already waiting for you in the study. He also wants to know Count Black's specific attitude in order to proceed with the next step of the plan."